You have to pay for everything you buy.
You have to pay for everything you buy. But sometimes that doesn't work. In the daily practice of debt counseling and protection administration you come across all kinds of stories. Often the problems start small. you often see people with payment arrears trying to fill one gap with another. Meanwhile, debts just keep on mounting. Sky-high collection costs, visits from bailiffs, wage seizure or even worse, imminent eviction. That one payment arrears has grown into several debts. The debts are now so great that repayments have become impossible. The customer cannot get out without help. This is the moment when a payment arrears has turned into a problematic debt.
Own fault?
You often hear at parties: 'Your own fault, big bump. Shouldn't they have bought such a big TV '. But that kite certainly does not always work. For example, there are often distressing cases of sudden dismissal, illness or divorce with a house that has to be sold but is under water. Actually, anyone can get into debt due to bad luck. And of course there are also plenty of people who are unable to run a healthy financial household. Simply because they do not have the right skills. These people are eligible for protection rule. After a court ruling, the protection regime starts and the administrator puts the finances in order. Under a protection regime, clients hand over their entire finances. This is a big step, but this protection measure often brings a lot of peace for the customer.
Brake on special assistance costs
The number of people under protection regime has increased enormously in recent years. Municipalities are concerned about the rising costs of special assistance. OBIN is therefore discussing a new approach with various municipalities. The approach is twofold. On the one hand, the focus is on proper screening prior to the application for protection administration. This ensures that only clients who really need government administration submit an application for protection administration. District teams play a major role in this. On the other hand, the municipalities screen the existing group under protection regime. Clients with sufficient skills can resume their own finances with the help of coaching, for example. With this approach, the municipality ensures less influx and more outflow. This therefore has a double positive effect on the costs of special assistance.
Most important advice
It is really distressing that people only knock on the door for help when the water is on their lips. Sometimes customers have been struggling with debt for 5 years. The debts have now been unnecessarily incurred by collection costs. Not to mention all the stress and misery of debt. My advice: make sure that people register with the municipality quickly. Under the Municipal Debt Assistance Act, the municipality has the task of helping residents with debts. And a solution is easier if the debts have not yet risen enormously.
Sandra Caeyers, director of OBIN